Director, Direct Indexing Operations & Tax Strategy

The Vanguard Group; Malvern (Chester County); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working model

Job summary

Vanguard is seeking a Director of Investment Operations to lead the execution and ongoing evolution of operations for a direct indexing platform supporting personalized separately managed accounts (SMAs). This role will partner with portfolio management, technology, risk, and client teams to deliver operational excellence across a highly customized, tax-managed offering.

The role oversees a team of ~10, driving continuous improvement, scalable processes, and robust controls.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in investment operations.
• Deep understanding of direct indexing, equity SMAs, and tax-managed investing.
• Experience with middle/back-office outsourcing platforms used by SMA managers (Vestmark, Advent, BNY Archer, SEI).
• Strong knowledge of trade lifecycle, portfolio accounting, and data management.
• Proven leadership experience managing high-performing operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day execution across investment operations lifecycle (onboarding, portfolio implementation, reconciliation, reporting, contracting, billing, proxy voting, custody/3rd party management).
• Maintain a scalable operating model for high-volume, customized SMA portfolios.
• Manage third-party portfolio accounting systems and data flows across benchmark, security master, client restrictions, and tax-lot systems.
• Partner with development/engineering to integrate portfolio management systems and client reporting tools.
• Drive risk controls, process standardization, and automation to scale operations and improve efficiency.
• Lead and develop a team of ~10 crew members with a focus on execution quality and continuous improvement.
• Oversee vendor relationships, SLAs, and service continuity.
• Represent Operations in client-facing discussions and with custodians and SMA sponsor platforms.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Partnership skills

Operational excellence

Direct indexing knowledge

Tax-managed investing

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Vestmark

Advent

BNY Archer

SEI

Job description

Vanguard is seeking a Director of Investment Operations to lead the execution and ongoing evolution of operations for a direct indexing platform supporting personalized separately managed accounts (SMAs). This role will partner with portfolio management, technology, risk, and client teams to deliver operational excellence across a highly customized, tax-managed offering.

The role oversees a team of ~10, driving continuous improvement, scalable processes, and robust controls.